Better the First Time Around

It was wrong, all wrong. Nothing was as Dipper knew it. Wild, evil creatures roamed the streets of Gravity Falls, and the air was choked with smoke and ash. There was no one in town that he could see, but Dipper could hear their moans and whimpers. Something had gone horribly wrong and he didn't know what had caused it.

Somehow, some way, Bill Cipher had won.

That can't be! Dipper thought, as he cautiously moved through the rubble of what was once a hardware store. We beat him and rescued Mabel.

That's how he remembered it. Convincing Gideon to let him, Wendy, and Soos pass so that they could free Mabel from her bubble prison. They had saved her and later Gravity Falls, stopping Weirdmaggedon from overtaking the Earth. It was over and they had won...

... or so they thought.

As Dipper looked around the town, taking care not to be seen by Bill's giant Eye-Bats, he saw that the bubble was still intact. Worse, a massive army of weird creatures was gathering on a hilltop just outside of town. Dipper knew that hill, as he had spent many hours there alone, dreaming about Wendy and contemplating everything that he'd seen during the summer. There was a perfect view of the Mystery Shack from that hilltop, and virtually nothing between the two.

It was clear that Bill Cipher planned on marching his army to the Mystery Shack to destroy it. As the only place in Gravity Falls that was immune to Bill's weirdness, it remained a threat to him, one that he could not allow to stand. It had been three days since the rift to Bill's dimension had opened, and the town was overrun by all sorts of creatures. The Shack was the only normal thing left.

As he quietly moved towards the mall, Dipper remembered the way things had gone, how he had saved Mabel and defeated Bill. He wondered why everything had changed. Had Bill used time travel to change history? Had Dipper imagined his victory? Dipper wasn't sure, but with the world in such a state, nothing made sense. He did know that he needed to get to the mall and find Wendy. She had given him the confidence to press on and save Mabel. With these new developments, he was going to need all the inspiration he could get.

Dipper reached the mall and avoided The Horrifying Sweaty One-Armed Monstrosity, as he remembered doing before. Inside, he made his way to the food court, where he found the nachos that had tempted him and triggered Wendy's trap. Only, something was different this time...

... the plate was empty!

Someone had eaten the nachos. Could it have been Wendy? Dipper instantly considered Soos and his raving appetite. But no, Soos hadn't been in the mall the first time, only Wendy. Maybe she was still here.

"Wendy?" Dipper called. He moved towards the potted plant where she had hid before. Empty.

"Wendy, it's me, Dipper. Where are you?" He scanned the food court but saw nothing. Where was she? What had happened?

Suddenly, he heard a voice behind him that chilled his blood.

"Well, well. Look who had a craving for nachos." It was Gideon Gleeful! He was surrounded by the Discount Auto Mart Warriors, all of whom were armed with bats and chains. Again, things were happening out of order. Dipper and Wendy had run into Gideon and his minions at the auto mart, not the mall. "Ya'll lookin' for your little girlfriend?" Gideon sneered, "Well, I found her first. As always, Pines, you're a day late and a dollar short!"

Gideon motioned to his left and one of the Warriors stepped forward. He had Wendy slung over his shoulder, tied from head to toe. Dipper could see the fear in her eyes. Somehow, Gideon had beaten Dipper to the mall and captured Wendy. But how? How did he even know that Wendy was there?